Skis in general, and Alpine skis, in particular, comprise a ski body extending from the tip at the leading end to the rear end and forming a running surface on the underside of the ski and an upper surface upon which ski bindings can be mounted.
Along its length, the ski is divided into three zones, namely, a forward zone which is frequently referred to as a shovel or toe of the ski, terminating in a somewhat upwardly turned tip, a central zone extending over most of the length of the ski and upon which the bindings are mounted, and a rear zone running to the rear end of the ski and generally referred to as the tail.
The shovel zone of the ski generally has a surface which diminishes in area in the forward direction, i.e. converges toward the tip which can be more or less pointed, more or less upwardly directed or raised or more or less rounded depending upon the ski design.
Invariably, however, the tip or end of the shovel portion of the ski is located substantially above the running surface of the ski and generally above the snow upon which the ski rides. The shovel, therefore, does not contribute significantly to the sliding support of the ski on the snow. It is however, necessary to allow the ski to ride over irregularities in the snow surface and to prevent crossing of the skis in use.
Because this shovel portion of the ski is located largely above the ski surface and has a comparatively large rigid mass, this mass is suspended or supported in a cantilever fashion upon a portion of the ski in constant contact with the snow surface and contributes an inertial mass which plays a significant role in the amplitude of vibrations generated in the body of the ski and excited by the multiple shocks and impacts generated during use of the ski.
In recent years there has been considerable concern with such vibrations insofar as they affect skiing comfort, control and ease of skiing (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,405,149 and 4,438,946, for example).
Because of its form and rigidity, the shovel portion of a conventional ski may be dangerous to use, i.e. the tip may represent a weapon capable of causing injury, especially because of the significant degree to which it projects upwardly. Furthermore, the shovel portion of the ski is a particularly sensitive part thereof because the ski body generally tapers in thickness towards this part so that fabrication of the ski is complicated in this region, and this region may represent the most fragile portion of the ski, especially in modern skis which are generally laminated from numerous layers of different materials. Bonding of these layers together is often a problem, particularly in the curved region of the shovel portion of the ski.